


Fate, or Something Like It

by Jgem87



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-01
Updated: 2012-10-22
Packaged: 2017-11-15 09:59:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/526052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jgem87/pseuds/Jgem87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a major AU taking place in the current time. Katniss is in her 3rd year of college when she meets Peeta and goes on a journey to find true love. My first Everlark fic!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Desperate Times

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! You may have seen my work under the pseudonym GoddessMaia on fanfiction.net. I am cross posting it here.

I looked down at the D on my statistics test in dismay. I had studied so hard for that test and it was all for nothing. I knew that if I did not get my grade up to at least a C by the end of the semester, I was in big trouble. Statistics is a requirement for my major, so any grade lower than a C means that I will have to take the course again.

"Miss Everdeen?"

I looked up to see Professor Abernathy staring down at me.

"Yes?"

He sighed heavily. "I'll need to speak with you after class."

I nodded back at him. I was in for it, I could just tell.

When class had ended for the day, I remained behind. Professor Abernathy walked back over to my desk, but he was not alone. Standing beside him was one of the guys in my class. He was kind of quiet, so I had never taken much notice of him until now. He had wavy blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a strong build. He smiled shyly at me and I wondered if he was in the same boat that I was.

"Miss Everdeen, this is Peeta Mellark. I have asked him to tutor you. He is one of my best students and I think that he could really help you out in this class." Oh, so this guy was going to tutor me?

I looked over at Peeta and I swear that he blushed. Yeah, like he had something to be embarrassed about. Not.

"Well, I leave you kids to figure something out," Professor Abernathy said as he exited the room.

"Hey Katniss," Peeta smiled at me.

"Hey, so umm...do you think you could help me to understand this stuff?"

"Of course, it really is quite simple once you get the hang of it."

I rolled my eyes. Simple...right, that was why I was on the verge of failing the class. "Look, I'm no Miss Smarty Pants and I'm not sure anyone can help me. However, desperate times call for desperate measures so tutoring it is."

Peeta looked a bit upset by what I had said. "Oh, I...umm, well anyway, can I have your number?"

I squinted my eyes at him. "Why the hell should I give you my number?"

"So we can have a way of communicating with each other and so we can make plans to meet up so I can help you."

"Oh, yeah, sure."

I scribbled my name and number on a scrap piece of paper and headed back to my apartment.

 

When I walked into my apartment, my roommate and friend, Madge, was watching TV in the living room.

"Hey, what's up Katniss?"

I sighed and dropped my books onto the coffee table before sitting next to her on the couch. "Oh just failing statistics, you know, the usual. Oh, but now I have to get tutoring."

"Tutoring?" She looked over at me in surprise.

"Yes, by some guy in my class, Peeta Mellark."

"Peeta? You mean that hottie with the ocean blue eyes and muscles to die for?"

Of course Madge knew him, she knew everyone. "You know him?"

"He was in a class with me last semester. Kind of quiet, but a total hottie. Hey, maybe you two could study some 'anatomy' while you are at it." She nudged me suggestively in the arm.

"Not likely Madge. I don't know anything about him."

"Not yet you don't."

 

Peet texted me the next day and asked me where and when we could begin the tutoring. I wanted to tell him nowhere and never, but instead I told him to come by my apartment at four.

I cleared the kitchen table of Madge's magazines, put away my bow and arrow (I was in the archery club at school), and even tried to vacuum to attempt to make the place look presentable.

Peeta knocked on the door at four on the dot. I answered and was surprised to see that he had brought muffins with him as well as his class notes. The delicious aroma was mouth-watering and I hoped that the muffins were as tasty as they looked and smelled.

"Hey Katniss, I made us some muffins to munch on while we study, you like blueberry?"

I couldn't help but to smile at him. "Yes, I do. Uhh...come on in Peeta."

Peeta and I ended up studying for about an hour, stopping every so often to eat a muffin.

"These are amazing," I said as I took another bite of the moist pastry.

"Thanks, I baked them before I came over."

"You bake?"

He blushed. "Yeah, my parents own a bakery and I used to work there before I came here."

Well that explained it. The man was an amazing baker as far as the muffins were concerned.

It ended up that Peeta was quite a good tutor. I found myself understanding the basics of statistics much better than I had ever understood them in class. However, he was a bit...distracting. He smelled amazing, like fresh pastries, and he had some flour dusted on his shirt and jeans.

I found myself intrigued by him, I just couldn't help it.


	2. The New Guy

As the weeks go by, I saw Peeta more and more. At first, it was just mainly for our tutoring sessions, but then he began to stay after the sessions to hang out for awhile afterward.

I enjoyed hanging out with him, he was shy and quiet, but once you got through all of that, his true character really shined. He was funny and amusing and all around fun to be with.

 

Madge and I were having dinner one day when she brought up a rather sore subject.

"So, Katniss...when are you and Peeta going to go out on a date?"

I almost choked on my burger. "Wha...What?"

Madge put down her on burger and sighed. "I asked when you and Peeta are going to go out on a date. Don't deny it Katniss, I know you have the hots for him."

Okay, so I did find Peeta attractive, but that didn't mean we had to be anything more than friends. The last time I dated someone, it didn't end so well.

********  
Gale picked me up to go to prom at six. I straightened my crimson colored dress and took his hand.

"Hey Catnip, you look beautiful."

I blushed, but smiled up at him. "Thanks, Gale."

We made our way to the hotel that our prom was taking place at. It was beautifully decorated and I couldn't wait to dance the night away with Gale.

We had been dating for six months at the time, even though we had been friends for many years. I was totally head over heels for Gale Hawthorne.

We danced and danced, and he held me close to him throughout the whole night.

After prom was over, Gale had an announcement to make.

"Hey, I got us a room upstairs. Let's make this night extra special."

I was in shock when he said that. I mean I cared for him a lot and we had fooled around in the past, but we hadn't had sex yet and I didn't think I was ready.

"I don't know, I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet."

He brushed back a curled tendril of my hair off of my face. "I really want you...to be with you in that way. Can we go upstairs and at least try? We can stop at any time."

I nodded and he took me to the room.

Gale quickly undressed me and began to kiss every inch of skin available to him. It felt good physically, but emotionally I couldn't get into it. I was afraid to have sex with him. I was afraid that everything would change between us afterward.

So when he started to pull down his boxers, I stopped him.

"I...I can't do this."

Gale sighed heavily. "Come on Katniss, it will be fun, I promise." He trailed his hand down my side.

I pushed his wandering hand away. "I said no, please stop!"

"Fuck! Everyone else is doing it! What the hell is wrong with you?"

He got dressed in a hurry, so I did as well. "I don't want to be forced into anything."

"We've been dating for six months, when are you finally going to give it to me?"

I was taken aback by Gale's attitude towards me. I thought he cared about me for more than just the physical things. "Well, if you are going to act like this, then never!"

He whirled around to face me and then grabbed my arm roughly, pulling me out of the room. "Come on, we are leaving."

Gale forced me into his car and raced towards my house. When we arrived, he leaned over and opened up my door. "Get out."

"Why? What are you doing?"

"Fuck Katniss! If you aren't going to give me any after six months then forget it, we're over. Now get out!"

My mouth gaped open and tears began to flow down my cheeks. Somehow, I mustered up the courage to slap Gale across the face before leaving him behind, forever.  
*******

I shook myself out of my flashback. "You know I don't do the whole 'dating' thing Madge..."

She rolled her eyes at me. "That was like three years ago, you have to get over it. Gale's a jerk, it doesn't mean that all guys are."

I knew that, but it didn't make the prospect of trying to date someone again any easier.

 

The next day, I was heading over to my human development class when I was literally knocked off my feet by someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I tripped. I didn't mean to hurt you!"

I looked up to see a tall blond guy offering his hand to me. I took it and he lifted me up. "Uh...that's okay."

The guy bent down and retrieved my books before handing them back to me. "I'm really sorry...uh, what's your name?"

"Katniss."

He smiled back at me. "Katniss, what a pretty name. Where are you heading?"

We began to walk in tandem towards the building my class was in. "Human development class in the Hamer building."

"Hey, I'm heading to Hamer as well. I'm Cato by the way."

I smiled shyly at him. "Nice to meet you Cato."

 

Peeta came over later that evening and we had one of our tutoring sessions. He brought fresh baked cheese buns with him and I swear my mouth had an orgasm.

"So that is how you determine if you reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis."

I wasn't paying attention to him. Well, I wasn't paying attention to the work we were doing, rather I was too caught up thinking about him and Cato as well. What were the chances that I would meet two attractive guys in such a short period of time. Maybe I would have to take back my no dating rule.

"Katniss? Did you hear me?" Peeta waved his hand in front of my face and I snapped to attention.

Oh, statistics...right. "I'm sorry Peeta, I got distracted."

"It's okay, I will go over it again."

I tried my best to listen to him and pay attention, but my mind kept wandering.

 

I told Madge about Cato after Peeta had left for the night.

"Oh, so you like this guy?" She flopped down beside me on the sofa.

"I do. I mean, I like Peeta too, but I don't know. I shouldn't even be thinking about this. I swore off dating a long time ago."

Madge shook her head at me. "It's time to move on Katniss. Not every guy will be an asshole like Gale was."

That was that, I decided to go for it...well, go for Peeta that is.

 

I was in good spirits the next morning when I made my way from my car, across the parking lot, and onto the campus. The sun was shining brightly and since fall was rapidly approaching, all of the students seemed to be taking advantage of the nice day by gathering on the quad.

It was my plan to go into statistics and see if Peeta would be interested in going out to eat or to the movies with me. Something casual to start since I wasn't entirely comfortable with formal dating yet.

Peeta seemed to genuinely like and care for me, so I thought he would agree to hang out with me.

I had almost gotten across the campus when I saw the familiar blond wavy hair of the one and only Peeta Mellark. Grinning, I began to run towards him.

But, before I could make it over to him, a girl with long blond hair flung her arms around Peeta and kissed him.


	3. The Green-Eyed Monster

I watched in horror for a few seconds before Peeta seemed to acknowledge my existence. He wrenched his lips away from the girl and waved me over. "Hey Katniss!"

I wanted to run away and never come back. I was so embarrassed that I was under the illusion that Peeta actually liked me in that way.

I forced myself to go over to him and the girl. "Hi Peeta."

He smiled at me. "This is my girlfriend Glimmer. Glimmer, this is Katniss."

What the hell kind of a name was Glimmer? I faked a smile. "Nice to meet you."

Glimmer gave me the most sickly sweet smile as she took my hand to shake. "Katniss, so you are the one that Peeta is tutoring."

I nodded, but I really wanted to punch her in her overly tanned face. There was something about her that I just didn't like, well...other than the fact that she was dating Peeta.

 

I had archery practice right after my class that day. I imagined that every target was Glimmer's face. I hit the bulls-eye every time.

I knew that I shouldn't have been surprised that such an attractive, nice guy had a girlfriend. I just never imagined that he would date a prissy girl like her.

Practice was over way too soon for my liking that day. The rush that I felt when I would pull back the bow and aim at Glimmer's face...er...I mean the target, and the satisfaction of hitting the bulls-eye was therapeutic for me.

I packed up my bow and headed back to my apartment. Maybe when Madge got out of class I could ask her if she knew Glimmer and if she had any dirt on her.

Those slightly evil thoughts were running so rampant in my mind that I didn't notice Cato waving at me until I was five feet in front of him.

"Katniss? You okay?"

I stopped and broke into a smile at the sight of the handsome man before. I mean, he wasn't Peeta, but he was damn good looking and that was something.

I smiled up at him. "Hey Cato, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind."

He raised a brow at me. "Oh? Care to share?"

I shook my head. There was no way that I was going to tell him about my disappointment over Peeta. "Don't worry about it. I'm okay."

Cato inched closer to me. "I enjoy running into you here on campus all the time. I think fate is telling us something." He winked at me.

I felt myself blush a bit. "Oh? Like what exactly?"

I saw a sly grin spread across his face right before he answered me. "Clearly, fate is telling us that we should go out sometime. Catch a movie or have dinner. Don't you agree?"

I felt a bit of apprehension spread throughout my body. However, I brushed it off, thinking it was just my lack of dating in the past few years that was throwing me off. Still, I was hesitant. "I don't know..."

He stepped closer to me again, well within my personal space. "Come on, give me a chance here. We can go see a movie this Friday."

"Well..."

"Please don't make me beg Katniss."

I couldn't help but to laugh at him. "Okay, okay, I'll go with you!"

He grinned at me. "I knew you couldn't resist me."

"Haha, right." I got my cell phone out and we exchanged numbers.

 

After making plans for Friday, I went back home to find Madge cooking a frozen pizza for dinner.

"Hey Madge. I have so much to tell you!"

She turned to me. "What is it?"

I sighed. "Well, first of all, it turns out that Peeta has a girlfriend. She is an overly tanned prissy bitch named Glimmer."

Madge rolled her eyes. "Glimmer? He is really dating that little whore?"

"You know her too?"

Madge let out a small snort. "Only from her reputation as being a high maintenance, first class bitch."

I wondered why Peeta was dating her. He didn't seem to be the type who would want such a bitchy girlfriend.

"Oh, by the way, Cato asked me out today too."

Madge dropped the pizza cutter on the counter. "What? Oh my gosh! Did you say yes? Tell me you said yes!"

I smiled back at my friend. "I said yes."

Madge launched herself at me. "Ah! Finally!"

I embraced her, laughing at her silly antics. "Settle down now. It's just one date to the movies. There is no need to send out wedding invitations or anything yet."

However, my friend could not seem to contain her excitement. "This is your first date since high school! I need to help you out on this. Let's see...you can borrow an outfit from me, and I can do your hair and makeup..."

She kept babbling on and on about what colors would look best on me and how to do my hair. I swore that she was more excited than I was about the date!

 

The next day, when Peeta was over helping me study for our upcoming exam, I couldn't help but to ask him about Glimmer.

"So, how did you meet Glimmer?"

Peeta looked a bit taken aback by my question. "Oh, we had a bio class together last semester and we ended being lab partners."

Hmm...so maybe they hadn't been dating too long.

I forced a smile. "That's cool. How long have you guys been dating?"

"About five months I guess."

I was still curious, so I decided to keep up with my questions. "Are you two serious?"

Peeta gave me an odd look. "Why are you asking all of these questions Katniss?"

Shit, he was getting suspicious. "I...uh. I mean, I'm just curious, that's all."

He sighed. "Right, now let's get back to the task on hand, shall we?"

I let him immerse me in statistics, but deep down, the green-eyed monster of jealousy was creeping up on me again. I really thought that after I accepted the date with Cato, that I would be able to put Peeta out of my mind. However, that was definitely easier said than done.


	4. The Date

When Friday arrived, Madge was waiting for me the moment I stepped into the apartment after my class.

"Katniss! It's already 3:30 and Cato is coming at 6:30!"

I could not understand why she was so frantic. I usually got ready in like a half an hour. "Settle down, that's three hours from now."

Madge grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the bathroom. "Get in the shower now! Oh, and don't forget to shave your legs!"

I laughed to myself at her crazy antics. She was really excited about my date with Cato. Not that I wasn't excited as well, I was just nervous.

As soon as I was out of the shower and dry, Madge forced me into one of her violet colored halter tops and a black mini skirt. They were definitely not my style but she insisted that I wear them.

She also attacked me with a hair straightener and makeup before she said that I was ready.

"Oh look at you! You look gorgeous! Cato won't be able to take his eyes off of you!"

She was right. I had to admit that I looked beautiful. Part of me wished that Peeta could see how nice I looked.

I had just slipped on my shoes when the doorbell rang. I smoothed out the mini skirt and pulled it down to cover a bit more of my thighs before answering the door. Cato stood before me in a dark blue shirt and khaki pants.

He gave a low whistle when he saw me. "Wow, you look sexy as hell. Shall we?"

I smiled and nodded before taking his outstretched hand.

Cato ended up taking me to some new horror flick at the local movie theater. I was too nervous to order any popcorn, so we just got some sodas and settled down near the back of the theater.

About halfway through the movie, Cato put his arm around me. I relaxed in his arms for the remainder of the movie, only half paying attention to the gory scenes on the screen in front of me.

When we got back, he walked me to my apartment door. I did have a pretty good time with him and I hoped that he had had a nice time with me as well.

"I had fun with you Katniss. You wanna go out again sometime?" He leaned over me and grinned.

I smiled back at him. "Sure, I'd like that."

Cato swooped down and pressed his lips against mine. It was my first kiss since Gale and my anxiety sky rocketed. However, when he grabbed my waist and pulled me closer, I let myself go and kissed him back.

I don't know how long we stood there kissing, but eventually I broke away from him. "Goodnight Cato," I said before heading into my apartment.

As soon as I shut the door behind me, Madge bombarded me.

"How was it? Did he kiss you? Did you two make out in the theater? Why didn't you invite him in?"

I laughed at my friend. "Whoa there, slow down! I had fun, yes he kissed me, no we didn't make out in the theater, and I didn't invite him in cause I knew you would make it awkward!"

Madge laughed and embraced me. "Oh, my little Katniss is all grown up, going out on dates again like a big girl!"

I laughed with her and gave her the details of my date.

 

I saw Peeta the next day for our weekly tutoring session. I felt awkward around him, like I had cheated on him by going out with Cato. I know that that was a ridiculous thought since we weren't dating and never had been, but it felt wrong in some odd sort of way.

He must have noticed how I was acting because in the middle of our studying, he slammed the book shut and looked me in the eye. "What's wrong Katniss?"

I played dumb. "Nothing, why would something be wrong?"

Peeta sighed, sliding a hand through his unruly blond hair. "You are distracted. In fact, you've been distracted the whole time I have been here."

He was right, I couldn't concentrate on statistics when I couldn't even sort out my feelings for him or Cato. "It's just some personal issues. I'm sorry."

Peeta placed his hand over mine. That simple touch shocked me, it was so intimate in a way and I found myself struggling between wanting to take my hand away and wanting to keep it where it was, just to feel his warm skin against mine.

"You know you can tell me anything. We are friends, right?"

I gave him a small smile before I gently slid my hand out from under his. "Of course. I'm okay, really. I'm just stressed with school and everything."

"Okay, let's get back to work then."

 

Long after Peeta had gone home for the night, I laid in my bed, unable to sleep. My hand still tingled from where Peeta had touched it and I felt so confused.

I really liked Peeta, and even though I knew he was taken, I couldn't help but to fall for him more and more each day that I saw him. There was a gentleness to him that was hard to find in a guy. He was intelligent, funny, caring, and attractive...and I couldn't have him.

I tried to switch my mind over to the one guy I could have instead. Cato was attractive as well, and had been nice to me too. He was even a good kisser, but I didn't feel the spark that I had hoped to feel when he kissed me. It had felt nice, but not amazing.

My mind drifted off to Peeta once again. I imagined him kissing me the way Cato did. I closed my eyes and envisioned what it would be like.

Peeta took me into his arms, staring down at me with desire. I smiled up at him before he leaned down and kissed me. It was a gentle kiss, but it brought forth such overwhelming feelings of desire and pleasure that I couldn't help but to wrap my arms tight around him to hold him as close as possible.

He moaned into my mouth and deepened the kiss, flicking his tongue over my lips, begging me for entrance.

I eagerly accepted and our tongues swept together, fueling our passion even further.

My daydream was suddenly rudely interrupted by the beeping of my cell phone.

I groaned and picked it up. Cato had just texted me. 'Hey sexy, just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you.'

Shit. Cato's timing was perfect for making me feel guilty.


	5. Confusion

Peeta's POV 

Katniss Everdeen had to have been the most confusing girl I had ever met. First of all, she showed no interest in me whatsoever, and then suddenly she practically wants to hear my own life story!

But let me start from the beginning. I had noticed Katniss on our first day of class in statistics. I loved how beautiful she looked, even with no makeup on and her hair in a simple braid. I had also seen her with her blond friend, Madge I think her name was, laughing and having a good time together. She seemed like such a nice girl.

When Mr. Abernathy came to me about tutoring Katniss, I was both excited and nervous at the same time. I was excited because I was finally going to be able to get to know her better. However, I was nervous because I already had a girlfriend, and the last thing that I needed to do was to fall for Katniss.

One day, when I was at her apartment helping her study, Katniss began to ask me all kinds of questions about my relationship with Glimmer. It made me remember exactly how we met.

It was spring semester of my sophomore year of college and I had to take biology.

The professor seated us in alphabetical order so I ended up sharing a lab table, and thus being lab partners, with Glimmer Manning.

I thought she was pretty right from the start. She had long, wavy blond hair and sparkling eyes, but I guess what I liked about her the most was that she liked me.

Girls never paid much attention to the 'baker boy' in high school and I had never had a real girlfriend before, so when Glimmer asked me to go out with her, I agreed.

When Katniss wanted to know how serious Glimmer and I were, I didn't know what to tell her, or why she was asking for that matter. I did like Glimmer, and she obviously still liked me. We had fun together, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that I was in love with her. I didn't really know what being in love felt like, but I was pretty sure that I wasn't in love with Glimmer.

I deflected Katniss' question, but I still wanted to know why she had asked me that. Did she have some sort of feelings for me? True, she had lost some of the rough exterior that she had exuded when we had first met, but she was mostly still a mystery to me.

The next morning, I was on my way to one of my classes when I saw Katniss across campus. She was talking to Madge, when suddenly, a tall guy came up and wrapped his arms around Katniss from behind.

Whoa, wait...she had a boyfriend?

The sidewalk that I was standing on was becoming a bit more crowded, so I strained to peek around the cluster of students to see who her mystery man was. However, when I finally got a good look, they were already gone.

Damn, I really wanted to see who her boyfriend was. I didn't know why it mattered to me, only that it did.

Glimmer noticed that I was acting strange when she came over to my apartment that night.

"Peeta, what's up with you?"

I sighed. I couldn't exactly tell my girlfriend that I had been thinking about another girl all day. "Nothing, just stressed with school work."

Her eyes lit up and she ghosted her fingers down my arm and into my pants. "I know something that can help."

I grabbed her wandering hand away from me. "Stop, I don't want to do that right now."

Glimmer huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms. "What the hell is wrong with you?" You never seem to want to do anything sexual with me! Are you gay or something?"

I glared back at her. "No, I'm not, not that there is anything wrong with that."

She pouted at me, poking her lower lip out. "So...what? You don't find me attractive anymore?"

No, I did not find her attractive when she was acting like a child. "I'm just not in the mood, okay?"

"Fine! I see how it is. Wait! Is there someone else? Is that it?" Her eyes flickered with rage.

Oh shit, she knew that I was developing feelings for Katniss! I had to cover it up, and fast. I went for sarcasm. "Oh yes Glimmer, I'm fucking half the girls on campus, how did you guess?"

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm Peeta."

Late that night, I laid awake thinking about how fucked up my love life really was. I had a girlfriend who I cared for, but who constantly annoyed me and frustrated me. On the other hand, I was starting to have feelings for Katniss, a girl that I still did not know that much about. Glimmer and Katniss were like night and day, I really didn't know how I could like both of them at once.

I couldn't sleep, so I got my laptop and decided to check up on Facebook. I didn't go on very often, so I was surprised to see a new friend request waiting for my acceptance.

Katniss Everdeen. I smiled and eagerly hit accept. I decided to tour her profile page a little bit to try and get to know her better.

I found out her birthday, that she had a little sister named Primrose, and that she was in the archery club here at school.

I was having fun searching around her page so I clicked on her pictures next.

The very first one that popped up showed her with a guy, the same guy that I had seen her with earlier. However, this time, I was able to make out exactly who it was.

Cato Dorvan.

Cato, the one guy I had hoped never to see again in my entire life. I had to warn Katniss about him, before it was too late.


	6. The Warning

"Katniss! Katniss wake up!"

I opened my eyes to find Madge at the end of my bed, urging me to get up.

"What? What is it?"

"Peeta is here for you. He is waiting in the living room."

Why the hell was Peeta at my apartment? We didn't have a tutoring session today, plus it was my day to sleep in. "What does he want?"

Madge shook her head at me. "I don't know. He said that he needed to talk to you about something important and you didn't answer your phone all morning."

I grabbed my cell from the nightstand and saw two missed calls and two text messages from Peeta. Whatever he wanted, it must be important. "Okay, tell him I'll be out in a minute."

I quickly changed out of my pajamas and into a shirt and jeans. I also ran a brush through my hair before putting it into a braid.

When I got out to the living room, Peeta looked frazzled to say the least. He ran a hand through his hair. "Hey Katniss, could we...uh, go for a walk or something?" His gaze flickered over to Madge and I knew that he wanted to talk to me alone.

I smiled at him, hoping to calm his nerves. "Sure, we could go to the walking trail behind the apartment complex."

Once outside and onto the trail, Peeta turned to me. "I accepted your friend request on Facebook."

"And you couldn't wait to tell me this?"

He frowned at me. "Let me continue. When I accepted your friend request I saw your pictures. I saw you with your arms around Cato."

Why the hell did Peeta care about Cato? Was he jealous or something? "Your point being?"

Peeta sighed and pulled me over to the wooden bench next to the trail. "Please sit."

I was extremely confused by his odd behavior, but I sat down and he sat next to me. "What is it Peeta?"

"Look, Cato...well, he isn't a very good person."

"How do you know?"

"I knew him in high school...he, he hurt someone close to me."

Peeta and Cato knew each other? He had hurt someone? "What happened?"

Peeta looked at me with pure sadness in his beautiful blue eyes. "Back in high school, he started dating one of my good friends, Delly. They were together for about three months when he pressured her to have sex with him. She finally relented, and the day after that he left her and made her the laughingstock of the entire school. He told everyone that she was terrible in bed and that she wasn't good enough to satisfy him. She was so traumatized that she transferred to a different school for the remainder of our senior year."

I gasped in shock at Peeta's revelation. Cato had been nothing but sweet and nice to me. It was hard for me to believe that he was the same guy who did such terrible things to Peeta's friend. "Are you sure it's the same guy?"

Peeta gave me a harsh look. "Yes, I'm sure. Look, I know that you can take care of yourself, but I just thought that as your friend, I would warn you of what your boyfriend is really like."

I appreciated what he was trying to do for me, I really did, but I just wasn't convinced that Cato was that bad of a person. Maybe he had changed. "He isn't my boyfriend, we have just been on a couple of dates. I really think he has changed. He has been nothing but sweet and kind to me and has never done more than just kissed me."

Peeta flinched and I saw an emotion that I could not recognize flicker across his eyes. "I really don't think he has changed. People rarely just decide to become nice people just like that. I know that I can't force you to stop seeing him, but at least be careful, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay, I promise I will keep what you said in mind."

He looked at me, and for a moment, I swear something passed between us. I don't know what it was, but I felt drawn to him. My feelings for Peeta were still so complicated. I couldn't help but to like the kind and gentle guy that helped me with my statistics and baked me goodies. I thought that dating Cato would help me to get over my feelings, but it wasn't helping as much as it should have been.

Peeta patted my hand and stood up. "I just don't want you to get hurt Katniss." Then he turned around and left, leaving me to deal with my feelings alone.

 

I had a date with Cato that night, so I decided to confront him about what Peeta had said. We went out to eat and he invited me back to his apartment to watch a movie afterward.

He must have sensed that something was wrong, because half way through the movie, he paused it and turned to me. "Something wrong babe?"

I sighed, it was more difficult to confront him about what Peeta had said than I had thought it would be. "Do you know Peeta Mellark?"

Cato flinched and I watched his eyes darken in anger. "Yes I do. How do you know him?"

I could tell that Cato was angry, I decided to tread carefully. "Umm...he has been tutoring me in statistics."

Cato visibly relaxed a bit. "Oh, what about him then?"

I told him what Peeta had told me and how he was concerned for me. After I was done, I nervously awaited Cato's reaction.

"Fucking asshole," he muttered under his breath. "He's lying to you Katniss."

I really didn't think Peeta would lie to me. "Why would he lie?'

"Because he's jealous of me! He always has been! Back in high school I was one of the most popular guys in our grade. That chick Delly had the hots for me and Peeta was jealous 'cause he wanted her for himself. I dated her for a while and yes, we had sex, but that's not why I broke up with her. I broke up with her 'cause she was a whiny, insecure bitch."

I was taken aback by Cato's rage towards Peeta. I wish I knew what really happened and who was telling the truth. Was it possible that Peeta had misunderstood the situation? Or was Cato lying to me? "I'm sorry, I just had to know."

Some of the anger left his eyes. "It's okay baby, I can understand why you would be concerned. I'm not a bad guy...have I ever treated you badly?"

I shook my head. "No."

"And I don't plan on it. Mellark probably just wants to get in your pants and perceives me as a threat once again."

Somehow I doubted that Peeta wanted to have sex with me, but that didn't stop the strange feeling of happiness that overcame me momentarily when Cato said that. I laughed it off in front of him. "Oh no, I doubt that very much."

Cato snorted. "Ha, yeah you're right, the guy is probably still a virgin."

Was there something wrong with still being a virgin? I was still a virgin. "Umm...I...uh."

Cato's eyes went wide with sudden understanding. "Whoa, hang on there...you're a virgin?"

I nodded, afraid to look into his eyes.

"No, really. You've never had sex?"

I sighed. "I've fooled around before, but I've never had sex. My last boyfriend tried to force it on me and I panicked."

Cato put his arm around me. "Hey, it's okay. I was just a little but shocked that's all. A girl as sexy as you are should not still be a virgin at twenty years old. You aren't waiting for marriage or anything are you?"

I blushed. "No, that's not it. It just hasn't happened for me yet."

"It will baby, and you'll love it."

For some reason, his words filled me with dread and not hope. He made it seem like he expected us to have sex, and soon. I wasn't ready for that, not at all.

 

When I got home that night, I found Madge in her room. I needed to talk to someone, and she was always there to help me.

"Hey, can we talk?"

Madge smiled and patted her bed for me to sit down. "What's the matter?"

Everything came spilling out. I told her about Peeta's warning and then about Cato's reaction and counter argument. I told her about my mixed feelings for the two guys and how I was now more confused than ever. By the time I was finished, I was crying.

Madge came over to me and put her arm around my shoulders. "Hey, it's okay Katniss. It's okay. We will figure this all out."

"I don't know what to do..."

"Shh...let's talk about this. Peeta is a good guy, I don't see why he would lie to you. However, Cato has never been mean to you or forced himself on you. Maybe Peeta didn't know the whole story?"

I nodded. "I thought that too."

"Yeah, it makes sense. It's kinda cute that he wants to protect you though. Maybe he has a little crush on you."

I laughed lightly. "I don't think so, he has a girlfriend."

Madge looked at me in all seriousness. "I saw them arguing on the campus quad yesterday."

Why did the idea of them arguing fill me with sudden joy? "Oh? What about?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, but Glimmer ended their conversation by storming off."

I processed that information as Madge and I changed topics to our school work. It was so nice to have such a caring friend, now if I could only figure out my love life.


	7. Unexpected

Peeta's POV

After the fight that Glimmer and I had on the campus quad, I seriously considered leaving her. Part of me still wanted to. However, we did have fun together and all couples go through fights. Plus, she distracted me from what I couldn't have...Katniss.

I'm not sure if Katniss actually believed me when I told her about Cato. She seemed to want to give him the benefit of the doubt. I really wished that she could see what an asshole he really was. I didn't want him to hurt her, I cared about her too much for that.

I went to get ready to go to Katniss' apartment to help her study for our midterm in statistics. She was really getting the hang of it, and I had to admit that I would be sad when she didn't need me to tutor her anymore. I wondered if she would still hang out with me after that.

I showered quickly before dressing in a pair of dark jeans and an orange shirt. At the last moment before I left, I was suddenly compelled to put on some cologne.

I spritzed myself and grabbed the chocolate chip cookies I had baked for her earlier.

I arrived a bit early so Madge let me in on her way to her night class.

"Hey Peeta, Katniss is still in the shower, she just got back from archery practice a little bit late. She told me to let you in and to make yourself comfortable."

I smiled at her. "Thanks Madge, do you want a cookie before you go?" I unwrapped the plate in my hands and offered it to her.

"Thanks, don't mind if I do!"

She gave me one last wave and was out the door.

I flopped down on the sofa to wait for Katniss. Suddenly, I heard the most beautiful sound, a bit muffled, but still lovely. I soon realized that Katniss was singing in the shower. I couldn't help but to smile to myself. Her voice was angelic, and it floated over me, the soft melody haunting my senses.

All too soon, her song was over and all that I could hear was the sound of the water running. I couldn't help but to imagine the water beating down on her smooth skin, over her head, neck, shoulders, and breasts. Fuck, I really needed to stop thinking about her naked. She was more or less taken, and I was in a relationship as well. However, that didn't stop a certain part of my anatomy to 'come to attention'.

The sound of the water shutting off made me snap out of it. I desperately tried to think some unsexy thoughts before she came out and saw my erection.

My older brother's loud belching, sweaty gym socks, geometry class. Yep, the last one did, I had calmed down, and just in the nick of time.

Katniss stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed and still towel drying her hair. I couldn't help but to think how beautiful she looked. I quickly tried to stifle that thought though as she came over to sit by me.

"Hey, sorry about that. I didn't think you wanted to tutor an icky, sweaty girl." She smiled at me.

I felt myself blush and prayed that she didn't notice. "Uh...no problem, I just got here a few mintues ago."

Katniss scrutinized me and I felt like she could see right through me. "Why are you all flushed? Are you feeling okay?" She put her hand to my forehead and frowned. "You feel warm."

Warm? Of course I felt warm! I was trying so hard not to become aroused by the clean sent of her body and the warmth radiating off of her. "I...umm, I mean, I'm okay."

She giggled, but then leaned closer to me for a moment. "You smell nice."

Yes! I knew the cologne was a good idea! "Thanks, I...uh, heard you singing."

Now it was her turn to blush. "Oh..."

"No! It was really beautiful, I liked it."

She gave me a sad smile. "Thank you. My father taught me how to sing when I was young."

I enjoyed hearing about her personal life and family, so I encouraged her to share more. "Are you close with your father?"

Katniss inhaled sharply. "I was, before he died."

Oh shit! I had no idea that her father was dead, and now I had made her upset. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

She gave me a soft smile, wiping away a stray tear from her face. "It's okay, it was a long time ago. I miss him a lot though."

I wanted to comfort her, so I gently wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to me. She leaned into me a little bit and I felt that being there, close to her was right. We sat there for a few minutes in silence. "You okay Katniss?"

"Yes. Thanks Peeta." She unwrapped herself from my arms and got out her statistics book. "Let's study, shall we?"

Katniss POV

Peeta helped me to study for the statistics midterm for a good hour and a half before I decided we needed a break. He had brought cookies, so we munched on them and chatted about life. He was such a nice guy. I was originally embarrassed that he had heard me sing, and saddened when I thought about my father, but the way that Peeta held me afterward made everything feel better. I felt a surge of emotion and my feelings for him deepened in that moment.

I really wished that I knew how he felt about me though. He seemed to genuinely care for me, and they way that he held me was a bit more than just friendly comfort. Also, I swear that he had been wearing cologne. However, he had a girlfriend, and I had Cato. Things were getting way too complicated.

I reached over for another cookie. "You are a man of many talents."

Peeta chuckled. "What do you mean?"

"Well, let's see...your an amazing baker, extremely intelligent, and a really good friend. What don't you do?"

I swear I heard him mumble something under his breath.

"What was that?"

He looked up at me as if amazed that I had heard him. "Oh, nothing. Thank you Katniss, but you are the one who is talented."

I blushed slightly at his compliment. "Don't be silly...I couldn't even understand statistics." I lowered my head in embarrassment.

Peeta gently lifted my head with his hand so that I was looking at him again. "Hey now, don't be so tough on yourself. You are doing really well now. Plus, you are a great archer from what I hear, a wonderful singer, a nice person, and beautiful too."

Did Peeta Mellark just call me beautiful?

I looked at him, practically swimming in his ocean blue eyes. The air around us was heavy with emotion and things unsaid.

I broke the spell. "Do you wanna listen to some music while we finish our break?"

"Sure."

I put on the radio to a station with a nice mix of music and an upbeat, fun song came on.

Peeta got up and grinned at me before offering me his hand. "Wanna dance?"

I laughed, I didn't know what was into us, but I was having a good time with it. I took his hand and he hoisted me up.

We danced together, but not touching. Instead, we tried to outdo the others' crazy moves by ones of our own.

The song ended all too soon, and we were laughing and panting for breath.

The next song came on, a slow love song.

Peeta bowed before me. "May I have this dance Miss Everdeen?"

I smiled down at him. "But of course Mr. Mellark."

He got back up and put his hands hesitantly onto my waist. I looped my arms around his neck and swayed with him to the music. It felt so nice to dance with him, to be in his arms. A part of me disagreed, saying that it was wrong to dance like this when we both had significant others. However, I justified it as dancing with a good friend at a school dance or a wedding. There was nothing wrong with that.

We didn't talk to each other while we danced, but we did keep eye contact. I felt like he could see into my soul, that he knew my every secret, and I was okay with that.

The song ended way too soon for my liking, but Peeta didn't let me go.

"Peeta...I..."

My words dropped off as I watched in seemingly slow motion as he took my face between his strong hands and pressed his lips against mine.

A thousand thoughts ran throughout my head at once. However, I quickly put them out of my mind, and focused on what I was feeling.

Peeta's warm lips caressed mine, slowly and gently. The spark that I had been missing when Cato kissed me was there, no it wasn't a spark, it was an inferno. Just the simple touch of his lips against mine set my body on fire. Pleasure radiated through me and I kissed him back.

His hands left my face and he wrapped his arms around me to pull me closer. I felt his velvety tongue sweep across my lips and I broke away from my dream-like state.

I pushed him away, breaking our lip lock. "Peeta! What the hell?"

He turned bright red. "Oh my...Katniss, I'm so sorry...I just...I..."

I was so confused and I needed to be alone to process my thoughts and feelings. "Look, I'm not mad at you, but I think you should leave now."

He nodded and with one last, sad look at me, was out the door.

I flung myself onto the sofa, buried my head in the pillows and cried. What was I going to do?


	8. Undecided

Peeta's POV

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. That is exactly how I felt after I had left Katniss' apartment that night. Why had I kissed her? Why couldn't I control my feelings for her? She was obviously upset by it. I mean, she didn't exactly push me away because she liked it, that's for sure.

But wait, she did kiss me back. Yes, it was only for a little while, but that had to mean something, right?

I couldn't stop thinking of that amazing kiss as I raced back to my own apartment. Her lips were so soft and the moment that my lips touched hers, I felt like a wildfire had spread over my entire body. I had never felt so much pleasure from just a simple kiss like that. I could only imagine how wonderful it would feel to be able to press my skin against hers intimately, to explore the areas of her body that I had never seen, but had definitely imagined.

No, I had to stop thinking about a girl I could never have.

When I got back home, I decided that some advice from an old friend was just what I needed. I called up my best friend from high school, Finnick.

"Mellark! Haven't heard from you in a while. What's up?"

I groaned. "Well, there's this girl..."

"Glimmer right?"

I coughed lightly. "Umm...no."

Finnick chuckled through the phone. "Ah, are you two over with?"

"Not exactly."

"Wow, encroaching on some dangerous territory there."

I sighed loudly, already hating the conversation. "Look, I've been tutoring this girl named Katniss is statistics, and well...she's amazing."

"You slept with her?"

What the hell? I couldn't say a girl was amazing without him thinking that we slept together? "No. She's just great. She's funny, fun to be with, talented, and not to mention absolutely gorgeous. I can't have her though."

Finnick laughed out loud. "What's the issue? Just dump Glimmer and go for Katniss if she is so great."

"I can't go for her, cause she is dating Cato...remember him?"

I heard Finnick swear under his breath before speaking. "Really? That douchebag from high school?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Well fuck, if that's the kinda guy that she likes then you have no chance."

What? I had no chance? What was he talking about? "Huh? Why would I have no chance?"

"You are too sweet. If she likes Cato's type, then she wants a tough, dominant guy, not the nice guy who bakes her pastries and opens doors for her."

"I don't know about that. She said that Cato is actually nice to her, plus, she told me that I am a man of many talents!"

Finnick burst out laughing again. I didn't know why our conversation was so funny to him. "A man of many talents huh? And you haven't slept with this girl?"

"No, not those kinds of talents! I, uh...I did kiss her though."

"Hmm...did she kiss you back?"

I smiled at the memory of those fleeting moments before she pushed me away. "Yes, for a few seconds, but then she pushed me away."

"I don't know what I'm gonna do with you. What happened after that?"

"She asked me to leave, but said she wasn't mad at me."

Finnick sighed. "She seems like a complex woman, are you sure she is worth it?"

I didn't hesitate for one second. "Yes, she just has no idea the effect she can have on me."

Finnick and I talked for a while longer. He suggested that I break up with Glimmer and try to convince Katniss that I was the right guy for her.

I wished that I was as confident as Finnick. He never had any trouble with women, they just seemed to flock to him.

I needed to show Katniss that I was better for her than Cato, but how? I already tried to warn her about what an asshole he was, but she didn't seem to believe it. Why did she want to be with a guy like him anyway?

A sudden, terrible thought crossed my mind. Maybe she was one of those girls who stayed with guys because they were good in bed. I mean, Katniss didn't seem like the type who would do that, but I didn't know for sure, and I sure as hell wasn't going to ask her.

First things first though, I needed to end things with Glimmer. We were going out to the movies the next day, maybe I would talk to her after that. I just needed to get up the nerve.

Katniss' POV

I don't know how long I sat on the sofa crying, but I was still at it when Madge had arrived home. I told her everything that had happened and the two of us tried to figure out what was up with Peeta.

She claimed that he must have some sort of feelings for me. However, maybe it was just a heat of the moment thing. He did have a girlfriend after all. And what about me? I was no better, kissing him back like that when I had Cato.

Peeta's kiss felt so amazing though. It was nothing like I had ever experienced. It was soft and sweet, but it made me burn with desire for him. Who knew what would have happened if I let him deepen the kiss like he had wanted to. Part of me wished that I had let him.

The next day, I was still moping around so Madge convinced me to go see the new action/adventure flick at the local movie theater. I really didn't feel like going, but she insisted.

We got a medium bag of popcorn to share and some drinks and were just getting some straws when I heard my name being called.

"Katniss."

I turned around and to my utter horror, Peeta was standing there with Glimmer of all people.

I forced a smile. "Peeta, Glimmer, hey."

Madge's eyes nearly bugged out when she saw who I was talking to. "Hey, what movie are you guys seeing?"

Oh, what luck, it turned out they were seeing the same movie that we were. Madge thought it would be fun if we all sat together. I tried to protest, but she wasn't having it.

"Come on, don't you think we should all sit together Peeta?"

He smiled shyly at me and nodded. Madge looked way too happy over that. Glimmer looked murderous.

We sat down with Madge on the end, then me, then Peeta, then Glimmer. I was so uncomfortable that I excused myself to go the restroom.

I opened the door to the ladies' room and walked over to the smudged mirror. I didn't think I could handle sitting that close to Peeta throughout the entire movie, especially if Glimmer was going to be hanging all over him. The only thing that would have made it worse was if I had been there with Cato.

I splashed some water on my face and when I put my head back up there was another face looking back at me.

I nearly screamed and whipped around to face Glimmer.

She sneered at me. "I know what you are doing you little whore."

Whore? Me? "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid with me. I see how you look at my boyfriend. You probably set up that entire tutoring thing to try to steal him away from me!"

Okay, Glimmer was delusional or something. "You're paranoid. Peeta is my tutor and my friend, and nothing more." Although I wished it were something more sometimes.

"Just stay away from him," she hissed, pointing her index finger at me.

I put my hands up in a defensive manner. "Okay, okay, settle down."

She lowered her finger and gave an evil smile. "Yeah, why would he want such a plain and boring girl like you when he has a triple B like me."

"Triple B?"

Glimmer smirked at me. "Beautiful, blond, bombshell."

"More like bitchy, blond, bimbo," I mumbled under my breath.

"What was that?"

I shrugged like I hadn't said a thing. "Nothing, now if we are finished with this little chat, can we go watch the movie now?"

Glimmer didn't say anything, she just walked out the door.

When I got back, Glimmer was snuggled up to Peeta. I wanted to punch her. That bitch didn't deserve a nice guy like Peeta.

The rest of the movie was pretty much uneventful. We went our separate ways and I had to physically stop myself from punching Madge for her little trick.

"That wasn't funny Madge."

She was laughing so hard that tears had come to her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I really wanted to see how he would act around you after last night."

"Hmm...well he couldn't really act any way around me with Glimmer hanging all over him like that."

Madge sighed. "True, damn that bitch."

"She threatened me in the bathroom."

"What? Why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, but she told me to stay away from Peeta. Maybe I should, we are both taken, we don't need to have any more kissing incidents."

Madge shook her head at me. "No! You two need lots more kissing incidents! Oh, and fondling incidents, and sexing incidents..."

"Madge!" I felt my face turning red.

"What? You guys are perfect for each other, but anyway, what are you going to do about it?"

I sighed. "I don't know, I really don't know."


	9. Truth Be Told

Peeta's POV:

"I'm sorry Glimmer, but I can't do this anymore."

She looked at me with pure venom in her eyes. "It's that bitch Katniss, isn't it?"

What could I say? She was partially correct. "Look, I want to fall in love, and I just can't seem to fall in love with you, we are too different."

Glimmer was seething with anger. "So that's it?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

"You should be! You will never find anyone else like me!"

Well, that was kind of the point. "I'm sorry," I repeated.

Glimmer slapped my cheek, hard. "Fuck you Peeta!" And then she left.

I did feel kind of bad for breaking up with Glimmer. However, she just wasn't the girl for me, Katniss was. Now, I just had to convince her of that.

I rushed over to Katniss' apartment while I still had the guts to talk to her about my true feelings.

Madge was literally at the door when I came up to the apartment.

"Hey Madge, is Katniss around?"

Madge smiled and kept the door open for me. "Yeah, she's in her room listening to some music. Go right ahead."

"Thanks!"

I walked inside and went down the hall towards the sound of some rock music blaring.

As I got closer, I began to hear some strange sounds muffled by the music. In fact, I swear I heard Katniss moan.

"Peeta!"

I thought that maybe she was hurt and had heard me talking to Madge. Without knocking, I swung open the door.

Katniss was lying in bed with the covers pulled up to her chin. Her face was flushed and she was panting. I realized at that moment that I had walked in on her touching herself.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry!"

Katniss looked mortified. "Don't just stand there! Get out!"

But, I still wanted to tell her how I felt for her, so I stood there like an idiot. "I...uh, need to talk to you."

She sighed. "Uh...give me a minute and meet me in the living room."

I nodded and left her room.

I couldn't believe that I had walked in on that! I swear that I heard her moan my name, but I could have been mistaken. She probably hated me now.

A few minutes later, Katniss joined me in the living room, looking quite embarrassed. "Well, this is awkward, what did you hear?"

I decided not to mention that I heard her say my name. "Umm...Madge let me in and I heard moaning and though you might have been hurt."

"Oh, I'm...I'm so embarrassed!"

I tried to calm her down. "It's okay, I mean...everyone does it."

She huffed. "Everyone doesn't get caught though..."

I shrugged. "I won't tell anyone."

Katniss gave me a shy smile. "Thanks, now you said that you wanted to talk to me about something?"

Oh yeah, I had almost forgotten the real reason that I was there. "I broke up with Glimmer."

She lifted one dark brow at me. "Oh?"

"Yeah, she just wasn't the one for me."

"Then who is?"

I stepped forward and brought Katniss into my arms. "You," I said before leaning down and kissing her.

I had barely gotten a taste of her when she pushed me forcefully off of her.

"Peeta! What the fuck?"

Shit! Why couldn't she ever just let me kiss her? Oh, right...she was probably still with Cato. "Katniss, I have feelings for you and I can't...I can't get over them."

She gave me a harsh look. "Well, you are going to have to, because I'm taken...and you, you know that!"

Fuck, it was Cato. "Come on now, Cato is an asshole, are you seriously still with him?"

Anger flashed over her beautiful face. "Yes, I am. He hasn't treated me badly."

Why did she have to be so blind when it came to him? It was only a matter of time before he hurt her. "Not yet he hasn't, but just wait, his true colors will show through."

"And if they don't? If you're wrong?"

"Damn it Katniss! I'm not wrong! Cato is a man whore who wants nothing more than to get into your pants!"

She slapped me, on the same cheek that Glimmer had just an hour or so earlier. "Get out!"

I tried to apologize. I didn't want to make her mad. "I'm sorry, I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I said get out Peeta!"

Fine, if she wanted to be like that, then I would leave. I shook my head at her and slammed the door to her apartment shut on my way out.

Katniss' POV:

I stood there staring at the door for a good ten minutes after Peeta left. I half expected him to come back again, but he didn't.

I was angry with him. Just because he broke up with Glimmer didn't mean that I was going to leave Cato for him. I didn't think that I should just leave someone because somebody better happened to suddenly become single.

Then, it hit me. I thought Peeta was better than Cato. I had feelings for Peeta, feelings that I couldn't seem to develop for Cato, feelings that I had never really had before.

I wasn't just going to leave Cato, maybe I just needed to spend more time with him for those feelings to deepen. Plus, now that Peeta had walked in on me masturbating, thinking of him, I didn't think I could ever really face him again.

I heard my cell phone ring and looked to see that Cato was calling me. Perfect timing.

"Hey babe, what are you doing tonight?"

I smiled to myself. "Nothing...why?"

"I'm having a party at my place at eight. You'll be there right? I wanna show you off to my friends."

I could think of no better way to spend my evening. "I'll see you then."

When I was getting ready for Cato's party, I couldn't help but to think of Peeta's warning about him. Was he really that bad of a guy? Or was Peeta just jealous of him? I had no real reason to assume the worst of Cato, but I didn't think that Peeta would lie like that either.

I tried to push those thoughts aside as I fixed my hair. I decided to actually wear it down that night. I pulled on a red tank top and jean shorts, put on a bit of makeup, and made my way over to Cato's apartment.

The music was blaring and the booze was already flowing when I arrived. There were so many people at the party that I felt like the crowd was going to swallow me up.

I searched for Cato for about five minutes until I finally found him chugging beers with a few other guys.

"Katniss! Over here!"

I smiled at him. "Hey."

He slung his arm around me and introduced me to a few of his friends.

I stayed by him for the entire party, and even though I usually don't drink, I felt like forgetting some of my problems so I drank all of the beer Cato gave to me.

It wasn't long before I was drunk, very drunk. No wait, I was plastered. I was hanging all over Cato and giggling. Giggling! I, Katniss Everdeen, did not giggle.

"Hey baby, you want to go back to my room and cuddle?" Cato whispered into my ear.

I nodded. Cuddling sounded like fun, but of course, everything sounded like fun to me at that moment.

Cato took my hand and led me back to his room. I settled down with him on his bed and he began kissing me.

I kissed him back, trying to enjoy the feeling, but all that I could think about was Peeta. My mind decided to imagine that Peeta was the one kissing me. Peeta was the one laying me back across the bed. Peeta was the one taking off his shirt and reaching for mine.

But, it wasn't Peeta...it was Cato. And suddenly, I felt how wrong it was. How wrong it was that Cato was now trying to take off my shirt and how wrong it was for me to just go along with it.

"Stop."

Cato groaned and thrust himself against me. I felt the hard press of his erection against my thigh and I knew what he meant to do with me.

"Come on Katniss...let me in baby."

I struggled through my alcohol induced haze to shove him off of me, but he was too strong. "Get off."

He smirked. "I'm trying to baby."

His humor was lost on me, I just wanted to get away from him. "I'm not having sex with you!"

He was angry. "Why the hell not? Come on baby, I'll make you feel good."

But I didn't want him to make me feel good, I wanted Peeta to make me feel good. "No!"

I continued to struggle against him, but my efforts were wasted. I was beginning to panic, I couldn't seem to get my mind and body to act as one and I couldn't get Cato to stop.

Just when I was about to give up hope, the door flung open.

"What the hell?" Cato yelled at the blurry figure in the door.

"I believe the lady said 'no'." It was Peeta.

Cato growled and pushed me aside. "Get outta here Mellark!"

Peeta barged in the room and the next thing I knew, his fist collided with Cato's face.

That was the last thing I saw before blacking out.


	10. Realizations

Peeta's POV:

A split second after I felt my fist collide with Cato's face, I saw Katniss collapse on his bed. I went to rush over to her, but Cato wasn't having it.

"Fuck! I think you broke my nose!" He swung at me, and I ducked out of the way at the last moment.

"You bastard! Katniss just blacked out or something and all you can think about is your nose? You deserved that! Now, what the hell did you give her?"

Cato was tilting his head back to stem the blood flowing from his nose. "Nothing! I mean, she just drank way too much, that's all."

I glared at him and rushed over to her still form. I carefully listened for her pulse, it was there and steady. She was okay, she had just passed out from the alcohol. Relief flooded over me as I collected her into my arms.

I turned to Cato before I left. "Don't ever, EVER, touch her again! Don't even talk to her! I will fuck you up, that's a promise."

The pathetic bastard just moaned.

I carried Katniss out of the apartment and searched her pockets for her car keys. Nothing. I would have taken my own car, but I had taken it to the shop earlier for some maintenance. I couldn't carry Katniss all the way too her apartment, so I settled for taking her to my place, which was in the same complex as Cato's.

I somehow maneuvered her into my apartment and gently laid her down on my bed. I took off her shoes and set my trash can next to the bed. Next, I got a glass of water and two aspirin and placed them on the nightstand for when she woke up.

I was exhausted myself, but I wanted to take care of Katniss. I rolled her over onto her side in case she vomited in her sleep and then brushed a gentle kiss to her forehead. I probably should have slept on the couch, but I just couldn't leave her. So instead, I curled up next to her on my bed.

I watched her for a long time. Watched her even breathing, he chest rising and falling steadily. It was then that I realized it. I was in love with Katniss Everdeen. That realization astounded me. The very thing that I had been searching for in six months with Glimmer, I had found with Katniss in a fraction of the time.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I was being woken up by the distinct sound of gagging.

I quickly reached for Katniss and leaned her over the trash can, making sure to hold her hair back as she vomited.

When she had relaxed again, I got a wet washcloth and cleaned her face and then got another one in case she threw up again.

I relaxed next to her again and fell back to sleep.

It was around three in the morning when I heard her retching again. Only this time, I wasn't quick enough, and she got some on her tank top.

I helped clean her up, but I was so exhausted that I didn't want to look for a new shirt for her to wear. Instead, I took off her top and threw it across the room.

I couldn't help but to look at her breasts, held up by a red silky bra. They were a perfect size, not too big and not too small. The perfect size for me to hold in my hand, but as much as I wanted to touch the soft weight of her breasts, I restrained myself. It wouldn't be right to take advantage of her like that.

I sighed to myself and quickly took off my own shirt and put it on her, before falling asleep practically spooned to her back.

Katniss' POV:

When I woke up the next morning I was aware of two things at once. The first was that the navy blue and gray bedspread that I was lying on was not mine. The second was that I was not alone.

I did the only thing that my confused mind could think of, I screamed.

The person lying next to me jumped up into a sitting position, startled by my scream.

It was Peeta. My mind raced for an explanation as to why I was in bed with Peeta. Oh, and wait, he had no shirt on. I also noticed that I was no longer wearing my tank top, but a blue T-shirt instead.

Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck! My brain was a scrambled mess and I could only remember bits and pieces of my night before. I recalled going to a party at Cato's, kissing him, him attempting to force himself on me, and then, an extremely blurry image of Peeta rushing into the room.

I groaned, trying to remember if Peeta and I had done anything last night. He didn't seem like the type that would take advantage of my drunken state, but maybe he was drunk too.

"Are you okay?" He looked at me with deep concern in his eyes.

"Head hurts and can't remember how I ended up here. We uh...I mean, we didn't...did we?"

Peeta blushed a scarlet shade of red. "You mean did we have sex?"

I nodded, almost afraid to know the answer.

He shook his head. "No, we didn't do anything."

Relief flooded throughout my body. However, I was still confused. "Why am I in your bed then?"

Peeta got out of bed and found a shirt to put on. I have to say that I was kind of disappointed. He had some really nice muscles. "It's kind of a long story. Basically, I heard that Cato was having a party and I knew that he liked to get girls drunk at his parties to loosen them up before putting the moves on them. I couldn't let that happen to you, so I got there as soon as I could and when I burst into his room, I became so enraged that I punched him."

He had done all of that, for me? "Wow..."

He held up a finger to show that he was going to continue. "You passed out, so I brought you over here because my car is in the shop and I couldn't carry you all the way to your apartment. I wanted to make sure you would be okay all night so I stayed here with you. Oh, and if you were wondering about the shirt, you puked on yours and I was too tired to get up so I gave you mine instead."

It took me a minute to understand all of the details of what he was saying to me. He had saved me from Cato. He had literally carried me to his apartment and stayed by my side to make sure that I would be okay. Gratitude rushed over me, but there was one thing that was still bothering me. "Wait, so you undressed me?"

Peeta's blue eyes widened. He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally speaking. "I'm...I'm sorry!"

I couldn't help but to laugh at him. I really wasn't angry with him. How could I be after all that he had done for me? "I'm not mad, but I do have one question...did you like what you saw?" I winked at him.

He threaded his fingers through his hair and I could tell that he was deciding whether or not he should answer my question. "Umm...I, umm...yes, yes I did."

I was kind of shocked that he admitted that. I was also pleased. However, my feelings for Peeta were still so complicated. It was obvious to me that he truly cared for me, and I had to admit that I like him, a lot, but after what had happened with Cato, I couldn't just jump into things with Peeta. It wouldn't be fair to either of us.

"Ha! I'll bet you did!"

Peeta squirmed uncomfortably. "Katniss...I want to tell you something."

No, whatever he wanted to say, I knew I wasn't ready for it yet. So I put my finger over his lips to stop him. "Not right now. Right now I am going to call Madge and have her pick me up. Thank you for everything you have done. I'll call you, okay?"

He looked so sad, but he nodded anyway.

Madge came to get me a few minutes later. When I saw her car in the parking lot, I gave Peeta a small smile and kissed his cheek. Before I shut the door behind me, I looked back and saw him still staring at me with the same sadness in his eyes.

Madge wanted to know everything that had happened to me. I told her all that I could remember plus what Peeta had said to me as well.

"Wait a minute! He took off your shirt?"

I laughed. "Yes, and apparently he liked what he saw."

Madge sighed. "Katniss, that guy is head over heels in love with you!"

"I don't think so. I think he likes me a lot, but he just got out of a relationship and I won't be his rebound."

She shook her head at me. "What the hell is wrong with you? The man beat up Cato and took care of you when you passed out and you say that he would just think of you as a rebound?"

Okay, so she had a point, but I just needed to give it some time. I had to sort out my own feelings for Peeta before jumping in to anything new.


	11. A New Beginning

Peeta's POV:

The day after the whole 'Katniss being in my bed' debacle, I had to take my statistics midterm. Yeah, that's right, in class with Katniss.

I didn't know what to say to her. I was in love with her, totally crazy about her, but for some reason she kept on shutting me down.

I swore that she felt the same, that she felt something for me. I just hoped that I could get her to come around.

I took my midterm as quickly as possible, wanting to finish before Katniss so I could catch her after class. Most of the questions were easy for me to figure out so I was out of there in no time.

I sat on the bench outside of the classroom and tried to ignore the odd looks I got from each of my classmates as they exited the class.

I sat there for fifteen minutes, nervously waiting for Katniss. I wasn't even sure what I wanted to say to her, but I really hoped that she would at least listen to me.

The door creaked open again and Katniss stepped out. She saw me sitting there and stopped cold. "Peeta."

I got up. "Katniss, please let me talk to you."

She sighed deeply, but nodded. "Okay, but not here."

"Want to go to the park to talk?"

She looked up at me with sad gray eyes. "Sure, let's go."

The park was only a block away from campus, so we walked there and then decided to sit on the swings.

I didn't know where to begin. I wanted to tell her so many things, but my mind could not seem to form the correct words.

Instead, I watched as she shuffled her feet and twisted slightly on her swing. "Peeta? What did you want to talk about?"

I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Did you break things off with Cato?"

Katniss flinched. "I am refusing to even acknowledge him as a human being right now, so I'd go with yes."

I was relieved to hear that. "Good."

She turned and faced me, anger flashing in her eyes. "Is this where you tell me 'I told you so'?"

I frowned. "No, I don't care about being right, I'm just glad you are okay."

Katniss looked back down on the ground again. "Oh."

"I kinda feel responsible in a way..."

"What? Why?"

I shrugged. "I should have warned him to stay away from you, or done something...I don't know."

She gave me a small smile. "Hey, it's not your fault. I was just naive and stupid. Plus, you did do something...you saved me from him."

I stood up quickly. "You're not stupid Katniss."

She followed my lead and stood before me. "Peeta? Can I ask you something?"

Something in the tone of her voice told me that she was going to ask something important. I steadied myself for whatever was to come. "Anything."

"You said before that you had...you had...umm, feelings for me."

"Yes."

Katniss bowed her head. "Do you...uh, still have those feelings? Or have I completely ruined everything?"

My heart, which I feared had broken into a million pieces after she left me yesterday, began to beat faster and faster. I inhaled deeply and smiled, before tipping her head up so that I could look into her eyes. "Katniss, what I feel for you is something I have never felt with anyone before. All I can think about is you. I know you probably don't feel the same, and I understand, but I just can't seem to get over you."

She looked at me, seemingly searching my soul for any traces of deceit. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she smiled. "What I feel is complicated. It's like there is something unbreakable between us. I'm drawn to you like no one else. I'm not very good at expressing my feelings, and I'm even worse with trusting people completely with my heart. However, I feel like if there is anyone that I can trust, it's you Peeta."

I felt my heart soar at her words and the meaning behind them. She did have feelings for me. I had a second chance and I sure as hell wasn't going to waste it. I opened my mouth to speak, but she placed her index finger across my lips just like she had the day before.

"Let's take it slow, okay? I can't rush into anything, look where it got me last time."

I nodded, completely understanding why she needed to take things slow. "I understand. We can take it slow, get to know each other all over again. So how about a date? Something casual like dinner? Can we start with that?"

She grinned, and I swear it was the best thing I had seen in a long time. "Yes."

Katniss' POV:

I couldn't stop smiling on my way home from the park. I had fully intended to keep Peeta at a safe distance, so as not to fracture my heart. However, when I saw him waiting for me after class and heard what he had to say about how he felt for me, I knew that I had to give him another chance.

Peeta was so different from most guys our age. He was kind, thoughtful, intelligent, and an all around good guy. He was the sweetness that I thought I needed in order to counteract my bitterness. That's why I decided to let him take me out.

I still wanted to take things slow with him. Rushing things with Cato was a catastrophe that I never wanted to repeat again. I wanted to give Peeta and me a chance to work, a chance to let something amazing blossom.

Peeta took me out to dinner the very next evening. Madge had been over the moon when I had told her about what had happened, so of course she insisted on dressing me up again.

I somehow convinced her to tone it down a bit though. Instead of the little black dress and five inch heels she wanted me to wear, I talked her down to me wearing nice black slacks and a dark green blouse. I also decided to wear minimal makeup to go with my outfit.

Peeta arrived at exactly five, and when I got sight of him, I almost drooled on the carpet.

He looked amazing. He had dark khakis on with a blue shirt that fit so well across his chest muscles. He had even put some gel in his hair, amping up his sex appeal even more.

Damn, that man was sure making it hard for me to take things slow!

"Katniss, you look breathtaking."

"I have to say, you clean up pretty nice yourself."

Peeta chuckled and then presented me with a red carnation.

"Thank you. It's beautiful." I gently inhaled the sweet fragrance of the flower before giving it to Madge to take care of for me.

"Now, don't be out all night you two!" Madge winked at us before closing the door to the apartment.

Peeta was the perfect gentlemen throughout our date. He held open every door for me, pulled out my chair at the restaurant, and insisted on paying for my meal.

We talked a lot during our dinner together. He told me about his parents and the bakery that they owned, and how he had two older brothers who now lived in different states.

I told him about my sister Prim and how close we were. I also mentioned what had happened between me and Gale back in high school.

I had to assure Peeta over and over again that he didn't have to find Gale and beat the shit out of him, that it was all in the past.

When we were heading back home, I couldn't stop thinking about how much I wanted to forget the 'taking it slow' rule and suggest that we go back to his place for a while. Not necessarily to go too far, but just to get some of the sexual tension between us resolved.

I had originally noticed the tension when he had picked me up, and after how well our date had went and how good he looked that night, I wanted nothing more than to relieve it in some way.

"I don't want this night to end."

"Same here, but as much as I would like to take you home with me, I think we both know that it would be better if we waited."

He was right, I would just have to dream about him tonight instead.

Peeta walked me to my door and hesitated. "Can I give you a goodnight kiss?"

I nodded. "Okay."

He smiled before bending down and kissing me gently. The kiss ignited the same inferno that I had felt the first time he had kissed me. I wanted more. I quickly pulled him closer by his shirt collar and attempted to deepen the kiss by flicking my tongue across his lips.

That had more than the desired effect. Not only did Peeta allow my tongue to dance with his own, he also wrapped his arms around me and pulled me as close as possible.

He carefully sucked on my lower lip, so I gently bit his. He let out a moan that I swear could have woken up the neighbors.

He broke away and planted another soft kiss to my lips before pulling away from me a bit.

We were both out of breath, struggling to find air. "Katniss...I...umm, wow."

I laughed lightly. "Wow indeed."

"Can I call you tomorrow?"

I smiled. "Of course. Thanks for the great night."

He gave me one last sexy smile before leaving. "No, thank you."


	12. Heat

Peeta's POV:

Katniss and I had been together for a little over two weeks now. I loved every minute of my time with her, whether it was studying, talking, or kissing. However, kissing was by far my favorite of the three.

I was still trying my best to take things slow with her. We have had some pretty heavy make out sessions, but nothing further. Not that I didn't want to go further, but I was afraid that I would scare her off.

I could only imagine how amazing it will be like when we do go further than just kissing. Just the feeling of her lips pressed against mine is amazing. The heat and electricity between us stunned me.

Tonight, she was coming over for a movie marathon. I knew that we would probably end up cuddled together on my couch, so I took a precaution and decided to take care of some 'business' in the shower before she came over. I figured that maybe I would be less like to become overly aroused by just being next to her.

I had just finished getting dressed when Katniss arrived. I opened the door and had to catch my breath. She wasn't wearing anything out of the ordinary, just a T-shirt and jeans, but she had left her hair down and it fell in waves over her shoulders. She looked beautiful, as always.

She smiled shyly at me. "Hey."

I opened the door wider for her to step through. "Hey yourself, ready for some movies?"

Katniss nodded.

"Okay, go ahead and get comfy on the couch while I make us some popcorn."

She did as I suggested, relaxing against one side of the brown couch. I quickly popped some popcorn and put it into a bowl before starting the movie. It was an action flick from a few years ago, but still a good movie.

We sat side by side with the popcorn bowl in her lap. We munched on the popcorn and while I was trying to concentrate on the movie, Katniss was having fun tossing the kernels in the air and trying to catch them in her mouth.

"Hey! You're getting popcorn everywhere!"

She laughed. "I'm having fun!"

I chuckled along with her. I wasn't really mad. "I said stop!"

She stuck out her tongue at me. "Make me!"

Hmm, two could play that game. I moved the popcorn bowl to the coffee table and tackled Katniss, wrapping my arms around her and pinning her to the couch.

She looked up at me, and I saw a fire burning beneath her gray eyes. I recognized the look as intense desire. "Peeta," she breathed out.

"Hmm?"

The passion in her eyes grew. "Kiss me."

I happily obliged, crashing my lips against hers. Her tongue met mine a moment later, and we dueled for dominance of the kiss.

I let go of her arms and wrapped one hand around her neck and buried the other through her dark hair instead, pulling her closer to me.

Katniss gripped my back, as if she was hanging on to me for dear life.

We continued kissing passionately, ignoring the movie that was still playing. I don't know how long we were kissing before Katniss ran her hands down my back and to the bottom of my shirt. "Off," she huffed at me, breaking our kiss.

I helped her remove my shirt, and the moment it was off, she ran her hands over my chest and abs. The sensation of her touching my bare skin was surreal. I wanted to touch her too.

Feeling bold, I leaned down and began to pull at her shirt. She grabbed my hands and I thought she was going to tell me to stop. However, she just gave me a sexy smile and slowly pulled her shirt over her head.

I was instantly rewarded with the sight of her breasts, held by a blue lacy bra. Shit, my earlier 'precaution' was not enough to stop me from becoming aroused at the sight of her. I had never seen her bare breasts before and my hand itched to take the bra off of her.

Instead, I pulled her up and kissed her hard. I did my best to ignore the fact that her chest was brushing mine, that she was moaning a little through our kiss, and that I was quickly growing hard.

I broke away from her, panting hard. Before we went any further, I needed to know some things.

Katniss' POV:

Peeta and I had been in the middle of an amazing make out session, one that I was about to push further, when he pulled away.

"Peeta, what's wrong?"

He smiled back at me. "Nothing, I just need to discuss some things with you before we go any further."

My mind raced with what could be wrong. "What...what is it?"

"Hey, relax. I just want to make sure that everything is straight between us. I don't want to move too fast for you."

Oh, that was all? He had scared me there for a second. "It's okay Peeta, I want this too."

Relief flooded through his eyes for a moment, but then he became serious again. "I have to ask this...umm...how many guys have you been with?"

I sighed. "Define 'been with'."

Peeta began to look a bit more uncomfortable. "Uh...slept with? Had sex with?"

Shit, there was that question, the one that I loathed answering. "Umm...well, truthfully? None."

He looked at me in shock. "Seriously? None? You're a virgin?"

I nodded, afraid to look up at him.

"Hey, look at me."

I peered up at him slowly to see him giving me a soft smile. "It's okay Katniss, nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I'm a virgin too."

No. There was no way that the amazing guy beside me was a virign. "You don't have to pretend, Peeta."

"I'm not lying to you Katniss. I swore that I would wait until I was in love to have sex for the first time. Kinda old-fashioned, but since I have never been in love before..."

He broke off, looking to me for my reaction. "Wow, I thought I was the only one our age who had never done it before."

He chuckled lightly. "Well, you're not. How far have you gone?"

I thought back to my time with Gale in high school. "Umm...I've given handjobs, and uh, been touched intimately, but never anything else. You?"

Peeta blushed. "Everything but having actual sex. I've done oral sex, but no actual sex."

I coughed. "Yeah, well now that that awkward conversation is out of the way, why don't you take this off for me?" I motioned towards my bra, hoping he would get the hint that I wanted to continue.

His beautiful blue eyes shone with passion and desire. "I'd love to." He slowly reached behind my back and fumbled for a minute with the clasp before unhooking it.

My breasts were nothing much to look at, and no one had seen them since Gale so I was kind of nervous to let him see. However, I let him glide the bra off of me and watched as he tossed it on the floor with my shirt.

I bit my lip nervously, waiting for his reaction.

"Oh Katniss, you're so beautiful. Can I touch you?"

I let out a deep breath and nodded. Soon, I felt his the rough pads of his fingers brush gently across my left breast. I couldn't help but let out a moan at the feeling, especially when he moved his hand to caress my nipple.

Pleasure radiated throughout my body as he continued. Unable to stop myself, I pulled his head down and kissed him. He kissed me back for a few moments before pulling back and smiling slyly at me.

Before I knew what was going on, Peeta was running his lips down my neck and to my collarbone, placing kisses along the way. Everything felt so amazing, so right, and so much better than when Gale and I had fooled around years ago.

His mouth reached my breast and lightly grazed my nipple with his tongue.

"Peeta, oh..."

He lifted his head up slightly to look at me. "You okay?"

"Yes...keep going!"

He needed no further persuasion to continue. A few moments later, I felt his lips leave my breast and travel lower, kissing my belly and then down to where my waist met my jeans.

He looked up at me again, silently asking permission to remove my pants. I nodded at him.

Peeta quickly peeled off my jeans and then hooked his fingers into my panties and removed them as well.

I was naked in front of him. Part of me wanted to cover myself up, but a bigger part of me wanted him to continue.

I watched him as his eyes traveled from my face downward, drinking in every inch of me. "Mmm...perfection."

I blushed at his compliment, eager to see him as well. I reached up to undo the top button on his jeans, and noticed how tight his pants were stretching over his erection.

The thought that I had excited him that much was almost overwhelming.

Peeta let me take off his pants, but when I went for his boxers, he stopped me.

"No, I'm not done with you yet."

Before I could utter a word of protest, he was trailing his fingers down between my thighs. When I first felt him touch me, I felt a sweet ache forming inside of me. The ache only deepened as he slipped his finger inside of me and curled it upwards.

I moaned, loudly. I had never felt pleasure like this in my entire life. Every nerve ending was buzzing with excitement.

Peeta lowered his head down and slowly began to flick his tongue against my clit. A sharper kind of pleasure flowed through me when he did this, making me feel more alive than I ever had before.

It didn't take him long to bring me to a shuddering climax, a much better and more intense version than I had ever experienced by myself.

When I had come down from my high, I kissed Peeta softly. "Thank you, that was...beyond words."

He grinned back at me. "No problem."

I gave him a sultry smile and began to tug on his boxers. "Now it's your turn..."


	13. Desire

Peeta's POV:

My heart was racing in my chest. Beating faster and faster with every passing moment. Katniss currently had her hand poised to take off my boxers and I couldn't breathe.

She was amazing. Her body was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined and I had been more than happy to pleasure her. Just the sound of her moaning, combined with the taste of her on my tongue had almost been my undoing.

Katniss gave me a sultry smile and slowly pulled my boxers down and then off of my body.

"Mmm...impressive."

I chuckled at the sight of her admiring me. "I'm glad you like it."

She flipped me onto my back and kissed me passionately. I swept my tongue into her warmth mouth, feeling my every nerve ending burn with desire for her.

Katniss trailed her lips down from my lips to my neck, biting and sucking gently at my skin.

"Stop teasing me baby," I breathed into her ear. I didn't know how much more I could take, and she hadn't even touched my erection yet.

Her piercing gray eyes met mine for an instant and I could feel my emotions begin to bubble up inside of me. I was totally in love with her, and not just because she was about to return the favor. No, I loved Katniss for everything that she was; determined, strong, beautiful, fun, and absolutely perfect.

A moment later, I felt her warm hand caress me. I moaned. "Katniss!"

That seemed to spur her on to go further. She gently stroked my length in her hand and I felt shocks of pleasure radiating throughout my body. I don't know how many times I had pleasured myself, thinking about her doing these exact things to me, but the real thing was a billion times better.

I figured that she would get me off using her hand, so I was more than a little bit surprised when I saw her lean down, her hot breath teasing me.

"Katniss, you don't have to do that."

She lifted her head up to look at me. "I know I don't have to...I want to."

The desire I had felt before tripled at that moment. "Oh, well...umm okay."

She laughed lightly. "I've never done this before, so...uh, let me know if you are enjoying it."

Katniss lowered her head back down and a felt her begin to lightly lick up and down my length. I began to breathe faster and the pleasure started to pool in my groin.

I felt like nothing could ever feel that good. That was until she brought my erection into her hot mouth and began to suck.

"Oh! Fuck!" I couldn't help the words coming out of my mouth.

Katniss stopped for a moment. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, not at all, please continue."

She did as I asked, sucking me harder with each pass. I knew that it wouldn't be much longer.

The intense pleasure began to build up more and more and at the last moment I stopped her.

"I'm gonna come baby."

Katniss lifted herself off of me just in time.

After we had both cleaned ourselves up a bit and got dressed, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her forehead. "Thanks for that. You know that just because I did that for you didn't mean that I expected you to return the favor right?"

Katniss smiled softly. "I know that you would never force me Peeta. I enjoyed making you feel good though."

I leaned down and kissed her lightly, brushing her hair out of her face.

I don't know how long we laid there together before Katniss noticed how late it was. "Shit, it's really late. I should get going."

I didn't want her to leave. I didn't want to lose the feeling of being close to her and holding her. "Stay."

She rose up to look me in the eye. "Stay here? With you?"

I gently stroked her check with the back of my hand. "Yes, stay overnight with me. I don't expect you to have sex with me or anything. I just want to hold you all night."

Katniss smiled. "Okay, but I don't have anything to sleep in."

"I can loan you a T-shirt to use as a nightgown."

"That works."

Katniss' POV:

Peeta found a large green T-shirt for me to wear to bed and I slipped it on. He dressed in a pair of sleep pants with no shirt. I couldn't help but to admire his muscles some more. He had a strong build that would make any girl swoon.

I quickly texted Madge to let her know not to wait up. I got a reply back almost instantly.

'Katniss, you hussy you!'

I laughed to myself before replying back to her. 'We are just sleeping, my innocence is still intact.'

'Riighhht...we will see how long that lasts.'

I shook my head to myself, not bothering to answer her.

Peeta must have noticed me. "Why are you shaking your head?"

I laughed. "It's nothing, just Madge trying to insinuate that we are going to sleep together."

It was his turn to laugh. "We are going to sleep together! Well, technically."

I swatted him playfully on the chest. "You know what I meant!"

Peeta swooped me up into his arms and carried me over to his bed, dumping me unceremoniously onto it.

I bounced a little, before catching his arm and pulling him down with me.

He tackled me, tickling my sides. "Peeta! Stop!" I couldn't stop laughing as I tried unsuccessfully to to make him stop.

"Oh no, I'm having way too much fun watching you squirm!"

We wrestled around with each other for quite a while before I flopped back down on the bed in exhaustion. "I'm definitely ready for bed now."

"Yeah, me too."

Peeta and I snuggled under the covers and he wrapped his arm around me. I never felt so protected in my whole life. I couldn't believe that the perfect guy lying next to me actually wanted to be with me, actually cared for me.

"Katniss?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I'm glad you were failing statistics."

I huffed in mock annoyance. "Ha!"

He chuckled. "Okay, I'm glad you needed tutoring is that better?"

"I'm not mad, I'm glad fate was on our side too."

I gently laid my head on his chest and he tightened his arm around me.

"Goodnight Peeta."

"Goodnight Katniss."

As I laid there in his arms, I felt so peaceful. I just wanted to stay there like that with him forever. I knew that when I returned home the next day, Madge would have a million questions for me, but for that moment, I was truly happy.

Just before I drifted off to sleep, I thought I heard Peeta whisper. "I love you Katniss."


	14. Love

Peeta's POV:

Ever since the night when Katniss stayed overnight, I had been thinking of a way to tell her that I was in love with her. It had slipped out of my mouth when she had just fallen asleep, but if she had heard me, she never mentioned it.

Katniss was the most beautiful girl in the world to me, inside and out. I would have to thank Professor Abernathy one day for getting us together. Katniss ended up getting a B on the midterm, and she was well on her way to passing the class.

I thought maybe a phone call to Finnick was in order again so I called him up.

"Hey man, how's it going?"

"Hey Finnick, remember how I told you that I was dating Katniss?"

"Of course, how's that turning out?"

I smiled to myself. "Great. She's just perfect, which brings me to why I called you..."

I heard him chuckle lightly. "Trying to seal the deal?"

I blushed, thankful that my old friend couldn't see me. "Well, I wanted some advice on telling her that I'm in love with her, then maybe I'll make love to her if she wants."

Finnick laughed louder. "You are something else, so old fashioned. I'll help you out though."

I sighed. "Thanks."

Finnick and I talked for a good hour on the right way to 'woo' a woman as he put it. Some of his advice was great, some of it was hopefully meant to be a joke. Either way, after all of the time that Katniss and I had officially been together, I was finally ready to proclaim my love for her.

She was coming over that night and my heart raced in my chest at the thought of telling her how I felt. I was hoping that she would reciprocate my feelings and maybe let me make love to her. I wanted her so much, but I wouldn't force anything on her like Cato had tried to do.

I decided that if there was any chance that Katniss and I were going to go all the way that night, that I needed to go get some condoms. I rushed to the drugstore just off of campus and hurried to the 'family planning' or lack thereof, section.

Shit, there were way too many choices! I should have just grabbed a random box and left, but I was concerned that I would accidentally pick out something highly inappropriate like glow-in-the-dark condoms.

So instead, I stood there like an idiot for a good five minutes when I heard someone calling my name.

"Peeta?"

I turned around, and to my utter horror, Glimmer was standing behind me with a confused look on her face.

I felt my face flush and I began to sweat. I didn't know what to say to her.

"Uh...hi."

Glimmer's gaze flickered from my red face to the condoms behind me. "Are you buying condoms?" She laughed. "Seriously? I never thought you'd have the balls to actually fuck someone! You never even tried with me."

"Shh! Do you have to be so loud all of the time?"

She smirked. "Who is it? Is it that Katniss whore?"

"She isn't a whore!"

Glimmer laughed at me. "No, probably not. I can't believe you though. We were dating for almost six months and we never fucked, and now you've been dating Katniss for what? One month? And you're gonna fuck her?"

I was tired of her vulgarity. "I never slept with you 'cause I wasn't in love with you. I'm in love with Katniss."

"Who the hell cares about love? A good fuck is a good fuck. And you should know that since I never got any from you, I had to get it elsewhere."

I wasn't too surprised that Glimmer had cheated on me, but it still hurt. "I think you are the whore, not Katniss."

She flipped her hair at me and stalked off. "Whatever Peeta, I bet you'll be a minute man anyway!"

I was angry, but not enough to cause a scene in the middle of the drugstore. Instead, I finally picked out a box of condoms and paid for it before leaving the store.

When I got back, I anxiously prepared myself for Katniss' arrival. First, I put the condoms away in the drawer in my nightstand. Next, I baked some chocolate chip brownies. Finally, I showered and shaved, making sure to spritz on some of the cologne that she liked so much.

I was just taking the brownies out of the oven when Katniss finally arrived.

I let her in and she wrapped me up in her embrace. "I've missed you."

I chuckled. "You just saw me like two days ago."

"Too long...mmm...do I smell brownies?"

We were relaxing on the couch, eating the brownies when I decided to go for it. My palms began to sweat and my heart began to beat faster and faster.

"Katniss?" I ran my hand through my hair in nervousness.

She must have seen how anxious I looked. "What's wrong Peeta?"

I tried to laugh it off, to calm my nerves. "Nothing, everything is perfect. I just...I, umm..."

She frowned. "You what?"

Time to get it all out there. The moment of truth. "I'm...I'm in love with you."

Katniss blinked at me several times as I nervously waited for her answer. Finally, she smiled. "I'm in love with you too."

Part of me wanted to ask her to repeat that, just to make sure that I had heard her correctly. However, my heart already knew that she had said that she was in love with me too. I launched myself at her, crashing my lips onto hers in a heated kiss.

Katniss' POV:

I had heard Peeta say that he loved me that night, and now he had finally told me for real. I was in love with him as well. I couldn't imagine a more perfect guy for me than him.

As he kissed me, I felt all of his love and passion pouring out. I pulled him closer and deepened the kiss, gently sucking on his lower lip.

He broke away, panting, his eyes filled with desire. "Katniss, you've made me so happy."

I smiled, my heart almost bursting with joy. "You've shown me what love really is."

Peeta kissed my forehead and then got up to put away the rest of the brownies. I followed him into the kitchen, not wanting to be away from him for a second.

In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around me. I wanted him, all of him.

Wordlessly, I took his hand and led him down the hall towards his bedroom.

"Katniss? Wha...?"

I placed my finger on his lips. "Shh..."

He let me take him to his bedroom and watched in awe as I slowly peeled off my shirt in front of him.

I walked over to him and kissed him hard.

Peeta moaned and wrapped his arms around me tightly, causing his body to become flush with my own.

I could feel him hard and pressed up against me and it only fueled my passion even further. I trailed my hands from around his neck down to the hem of his shirt and began to lift it off of him.

He broke the kiss and took his shirt the rest of the way off. I let my hands roam over his chest and abs, noticing the small shiver that my touch had caused him.

Peeta pulled me in for another passion filled kiss, his hot, wet mouth moving over mine and making me whimper in desire for him. His hands ran around to my back and unclasped my bra, breaking our lip lock only to slide it off of me.

He backed away a bit and took in the sight of my bare breasts, before carefully caressing them with his hands.

I moaned softly, enjoying the sparks of pleasuring igniting inside of me.

He massaged my breasts for a little while before becoming more bold and drifting his hands down to my pants. "Can I?"

I nodded, he was such a gentleman, even when I knew how much he wanted me. "Yes."

He slowly unbuttoned my jeans and slid them down my legs, leaving me in only my panties. Seeing as how he was still mostly dressed, I quickly remedied that by pulling down his jeans as well.

I pulled Peeta close to me, molding our bodies together as we kissed. I could have stayed there and kissed him for the rest of the night. However, there were more pressing matters at hand, basically, my intense need to feel him inside of me.

"Peeta?"

"Yeah?" He looked at me with such longing and desire that I had never seen in anyone before.

"Make love to me."

His beautiful blue eyes sparkled at my words. "I would love to. Are you one hundred percent sure?"

I nodded. "There is nothing I want more right now."

Peeta grinned at me and picked me up into his arms and carried me over to his bed. He gently laid me down on it and settled himself on top of me.

We kissed again, letting our passion for one another flow freely between us. Peeta's lips moved slowly from mine and down to my neck, sucking and biting lightly at my skin. Pleasure began to spread throughout my body, burning and intensifying as his lips traveled lower to my chest.

He gently sucked on my nipple, causing me to arch towards him. "Peeta...please!"

He chuckled. "Please what?"

"Please," I panted again. "I need you."

The corner of his lips lifted into a smile and he continued moving his lips downward. He was torturing me, but it was the most amazing brand of torture there was.

A moment later, I felt him drag my panties down and the next thing I knew, I felt his tongue lapping at my sensitive flesh. I threaded my fingers into his hair, needing something to stop me from bucking my hips involuntarily.

Peeta continued for a few minutes, driving me absolutely crazy. He would bring me to the brink again and again, but never quite letting me get to my release. Finally, he pushed two fingers inside of me and curled them against me while his tongue continued to pleasure me as well.

The sweet ache of pleasure that had been building and building finally broke, sending me over the edge. "Oh God, Peeta!"

Peeta held me while I came down from my release. Once my heart had slowed down a bit, I knew that it was time.

I ran my hand down to his boxers and slowly pulled them off. He was more than ready and so was I.

Peeta looked into my eyes. "Are you ready?"

I nodded. "Yes."

He leaned over and grabbed a condom from his nightstand. He slipped it on and positioned himself between me.

I knew that it was going to hurt, but I was hopeful that the pleasure of making love with him would overcome any pain.

A moment later, he started to ease himself into me. When he got to my barrier, he looked at me. "Tell me if you need me to stop."

"Okay," I said and I felt him push through all the way into me.

I stopped myself from crying out in pain. It hurt, it hurt a lot. However, after a few steady thrusts, the pain began to fade away, replaced by pure pleasure.

"Katniss, you feel so amazing."

I smiled at Peeta, bringing him down for a kiss.

We continued enjoying each other's bodies for a while when Peeta began to thrust a bit faster. "I...I can't hold this much longer."

"It's okay, let go."

He rocked into me a few more times and I felt my self being brought to the edge once again. In one more moment, I climaxed, moaning Peeta's name.

He quickly followed me, saying my name over and over like a mantra.

Afterward, we laid together on his bed with me snuggled up in his arms.

"Thank you for giving me that Katniss, I love you so much."

"I love you too Peeta."

Together we drifted off to sleep, and I knew, I would love him forever.


	15. Looking Ahead (Epilogue)

Two years later...

Peeta's POV:

The time had come. Katniss and I were about to celebrate our two year anniversary and I couldn't be happier with her.

Over the past two years, we learned how to love. It wasn't always easy, but it was beautiful. We laughed and celebrated with each other in the good times, and supported each other in the bad times.

She was all that I had ever wanted and so much more. Now, it was time to make her mine forever.

I was nervous about proposing to Katniss. She wasn't exactly the typical girly girl who would want an expensive engagement ring or an over the top proposal, so I had to think of something unique for her.

After a month or so of meticulous planning, I had my idea down pat.

The engagement ring that I had picked out for her was simple, but elegant. It had a large diamond in the center, surrounded by small emeralds. Emerald was her birth stone and green was her favorite color so I decided to incorporate that into her ring.

For the next part of my plan, I made cookies. They were shaped like letters to spell out the words, 'Marry Me?'.

Once the cookies were done, I frosted them lightly and scattered them on a large plate.

Katniss would be here soon.

Katniss' POV:

I still couldn't believe that I had been with Peeta for two years now. It seemed like just yesterday that he had to tutor me so I didn't fail statistics, and now I couldn't imagine my life without him.

He was the perfect guy. Honest, caring, fun, talented, and handsome were all words that I would use to describe my Peeta.

I arrived at his place just on time, wondering if he had any special plans for us on our two year anniversary.

Peeta greeted me at the door with a nervous smile on his face. "Hey Katniss," he said after giving me a gentle kiss.

"Is something wrong Peeta?"

He ran a hand through his hair and I could see that he was shaking. "N...no, of course not!"

He was lying, my sweet, honest Peeta was lying to me. "Tell me what it is, did I do something wrong?"

He face broke out into a sudden smile. "No! Don't be silly! I was going to wait a while before doing this but..." Peeta trailed off and his anxious demeanor returned.

I was confused. What the hell was he thinking of doing? "Do what?"

He sighed. "Come with me."

Peeta took my hand and led me to his kitchen. The small table in the center had a large platter on it with letter shaped cookies.

"Cookies? That's what all of this is about?"

He chuckled lightly. "Not exactly. The cookies make up two words, I want you to unscramble them."

I didn't know what kind of odd game Peeta was playing with me, but I decided to humor him anyway. I looked at the cookie letters and began to scramble them around.

Then, it hit me. The cookie letters spelled out 'Marry Me?' complete with a question mark.

I sucked in a breath of air, certain that I might faint at any second. "Peeta?"

I turned around to see him on one knee with a small box in his hands. "Katniss Everdeen, I love you more than anything else in the world. You are the one I have been waiting for my entire life. Will you marry me?"

I was in shock, complete and utter shock. I don't think I moved one muscle or said one word for at least a full minute.

"Yes! Yes, of course I will!"

Peeta slid the beautiful ring onto my finger and wrapped me up in a strong hug and then kissed me. "You've made me the happiest man alive. How did I ever get so lucky to have found you?"

I smiled at him. "It was fate, or something like it."


End file.
